Network TenNetwork Ten (commonly known as Channel Ten or simply Ten, officially
stylised as TEN) is an Australian commercial television network. It
first aired on 1 August 1964 in Melbourne. One of five national
free-to-air networks, Ten's owned-and-operated stations can be found
in the state capital cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide
and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to regional areas of
the country. The network has been owned by
CBS CorporationCBS Corporation since
November 2017.[2]

History[edit]
Origins[edit]
From the introduction of TV in 1956 until 1965 there were only two
commercial television networks in Australia, the National Television
Network (now the Nine Network) and the Australian Television Network
(now the Seven Network), as well as the public Australian Broadcasting
Commission. In the early 1960s, the Australian Government began
canvassing the idea of licensing a third commercial television station
in each capital city. This decision was seen by some as a way for the
government to defuse growing public dissatisfaction with the dominance
of imported overseas programming and the paucity of local content. The
first of these "third" licences was granted to United Telecasters
SydneySydney was granted on 4 April 1963.
Structurally, the Australian television industry was closely modelled
on the two-tiered system that had been in place in Australian radio
since the late 1930s. One tier consisted of a network of publicly
funded television stations run by the ABC, which was funded by
government budget allocation and (until 1972) by fees from television
viewer licences. The second tier consisted of the commercial networks
and independent stations owned by private operators, whose income came
from selling advertising time.
Launch[edit]
The network was launched as ATV-0 in
MelbourneMelbourne opened on 1 August 1964
and was owned by the Ansett transport and media group, which at the
time owned one of Australia's two domestic airlines. TEN-10 in Sydney,
which opened on 5 April 1965, was originally owned by United
Telecasters
SydneySydney Ltd (UTSL), which also[citation needed] in July
that year opened TVQ-0 in Brisbane, Queensland. Also opened later that
month was SAS-10, serving the city of
AdelaideAdelaide in South Australia.
The new television network was initially dubbed the "Independent
Television System" or ITS, but in 1970 adopted the title "The 0/10
Network" which reflected the names of the first two stations launched
in the group.
Melbourne's ATV was the first station of the network to stage colour
broadcasts in 1967, the broadcast was that of the Pakenham races which
was seen by network executives and invited members of the media and
press. This would the first of many test colour telecasts for the
station, and in tribute to this event, the 0-10 Network adopted the
First in Color slogan in 1974, within months before 1 March 1975
transition to colour broadcasting.
1970–1988: Expansion and original run[edit]
For its first five years, the 0/10 Network led a hand-to-mouth
existence. By the beginning of the 1970s the network was in a
precarious financial position and there were predictions that it would
fail.
In 1971, the 0/10 network first aired Young Talent Time, which was a
huge ratings success, and ran for 17 years.
However, the network's true financial reprise came about due to the
adult soap opera serial Number 96, which premiered in March 1972 on
the night that "Australian TV lost its virginity". The series broke
new ground for Australian television and captured the imagination of
viewers like few programs before or since. For the next three years it
was consistently Australia's top-rating television program and, not
surprisingly, its huge popularity attracted advertisers to Ten en
masse, with the result that its revenue increased significantly from
A$1 million in 1971 to more than A$10 million in 1972.
However, the pattern of ratings dominance was already set, and for
most of the next five decades from the mid-1960s there was little
deviation from the prevalent rankings, with the
Nine NetworkNine Network typically
in first place, the
Seven NetworkSeven Network second,
Network TenNetwork Ten third and ABC
fourth.
The gradual evolution of
Network TenNetwork Ten into its current form has its
origins in the ongoing attempts by media mogul
Rupert MurdochRupert Murdoch to
acquire a prized commercial television licence in Australia's largest
capital city market, Sydney. This began when Murdoch's News Ltd
purchased the
WollongongWollongong station
WIN TelevisionWIN Television in the early 1960s,
around the same time he bought Festival Records. In 1977, frustrated
by regulatory blocks that prevented him from expanding into the Sydney
market, Murdoch sold WIN and purchased a 46% share in Ten Sydney.
In 1979, Murdoch made an unsuccessful takeover bid for the
Melbourne-based
The Herald and Weekly TimesThe Herald and Weekly Times media group. Although the
bid failed, he gained a 50% stake in Ansett, which thus gave him
control of channel 0 in Melbourne.
In 1979, 0/10 first aired soap opera Prisoner, which was a huge
ratings success.
On 20 January 1980, the 0/10 Network became known as
Network TenNetwork Ten to
reflect ATV moving from channel 0 to channel 10 – although the
BrisbaneBrisbane station continued to broadcast as TVQ-0 until 10 September
1988 when the station changed to TVQ-10. In 1987 Adelaide's Network
Ten affiliate (SAS-10) and
Seven NetworkSeven Network affiliate (ADS-7)
successfully negotiated to exchange affiliation rights and channel
frequencies due to ownership problems. On 27 December 1987, the
exchange came into effect and ADS-7, owned by the same owners as the
main
Network TenNetwork Ten stations, became ADS-10 with SAS-10 converting to
SAS-7, operated by TVW-7 in Perth.
When Murdoch became an American citizen in 1985 so that he could
expand his media empire in the United States, Australia's media
ownership laws obliged him to dispose of the flagship television
stations, which were sold to The Northern Star, an offshoot of the
Westfield GroupWestfield Group conglomerate controlled by property tycoon Frank Lowy.
However, Westfield was badly hit by the stock market crash of 1987,
and in 1989 sold
Network TenNetwork Ten to a consortium led by Charles Curran and
former television journalist Steve Cosser.
The network became fully national in 1988 with the launch of NEW-10 in
Perth, after the introduction of satellite facilities made it
economical for the network to broadcast to Western Australia. Northern
Star officially took hold of TVQ-10 later in the year because of
swapping frequencies with neighbouring DDQ-0 in Toowoomba and
rebranded CTC Canberra under the network banner in time for
aggregation.
1989–1994: Receivership and relaunch[edit]

Ten's corporate headquarters in Pyrmont, an inner suburb of Sydney

In 1989, Ten's ratings were in decline, so on 23 July 1989, recently
recruited network boss Bob Shanks relaunched the network and
introduced several new programs, including four new prime time game
shows. However, by the end of 1989 the ratings had failed to improve
and most of the new programs were cancelled, except for its Eyewitness
News newscasts,
NeighboursNeighbours and
E StreetE Street (debuting in late 1988).
Meanwhile, owners Northern Star Holdings were having financial and
regulatory problems. The company was subject to an inquiry by the
Australian Broadcasting Tribunal in relation to media ownership rules
and had run into financial difficulties following the 1987 stock
market crash two years earlier. On 1 September 1989, Northern Star
Holdings announced a major restructure to pay off debts and help
restore profitability. The proposals included selling off the
network's three smaller stations; ADS Adelaide, NEW
PerthPerth and CTC
Canberra to Charles Curran's Capital Television Group. The sale was
complete on 27 October 1989, effectively splitting Northern Star's
Network TenNetwork Ten in half.[3]
In September 1990, Northern Star filed for receivership and in January
1991 Ten was relaunched yet again with the first version of its
present logo.[4][5] The network entered liquidation in May 1991.[6] In
1992, the network's flagship stations were sold to the Canadian-based
CanwestCanwest media group, which held a controlling stake in the network
until 2009. Also in 1992, the network commenced a strategy of
targeting younger audiences. The
AdelaideAdelaide and
PerthPerth stations were
re-acquired by the network in 1995.[7]
With the network having financially recovered, Ten Network Holdings
floated on the Australian Stock Exchange in 1998. At this time, Ten
had affiliate broadcasting agreements with Southern Cross Broadcasting
in southern New South Wales, regional Victoria and Tasmania, and with
Telecasters
AustraliaAustralia in northern
New South WalesNew South Wales and regional
Queensland.[8]
1995–2007: Recovery and success[edit]
In 2001, Ten opened its doors to the Big Brother
AustraliaAustralia house and
with it reality television, the opening night of Big Brother became
the most watched programs of the night. The trend was then followed by
launching the Australian version of reality singing competition format
Idols called
Australian IdolAustralian Idol in 2003.
Australian IdolAustralian Idol was a hit for
several years, lasting until 2009.
In 2004,
Network TenNetwork Ten enjoyed its best year since the 1970s, winning
two ratings weeks (out of 40) and finishing second nationally only
behind the
Nine NetworkNine Network and well ahead of the Seven Network.[9] This
was a departure from previous years, in which it typically places
third behind Nine and Seven in most other ratings years since 2000.
In 2005,
CanwestCanwest was in discussions with newspaper publisher John
Fairfax Holdings about a possible sale of the network, after the
federal government indicated it may consider relaxing Australia's
media cross-ownership laws. Previously, newspaper owners could not own
television stations in the same city. Fairfax owned the Seven Network
until 1988, and had been looking for a way back into television for a
long time.
On 21 August 2005, the network celebrated its 40th birthday with a
two-hour highlights package called Ten: Seriously 40, which was hosted
by
Bert NewtonBert Newton and Rove McManus. From 2006 to 2008, Ten was the
official broadcaster of
SydneySydney New Year's Eve. The rights returned to
the
Nine NetworkNine Network from 2009.
On 7 August 2007,
Network TenNetwork Ten and
FoxtelFoxtel signed a new agreement
allowing Ten's digital signal to be transmitted via Foxtel's cable and
satellite services.[10] Prior to this, Ten was only transmitted via
cable on
FoxtelFoxtel in an analogue format and
AustarAustar in standard
definition digital via Mystar. Similarly in October 2007, Network Ten
and Optus announced that Ten's digital signal would be available on
its cable network from 1 December 2007.[11]
2007–2015: Digital horizons[edit]
On 16 December 2007,
Ten HDTen HD was officially launched as a breakaway
channel, becoming the first new commercial television channel in
metropolitan areas of
AustraliaAustralia since 1988.
Ten HDTen HD ceased broadcasting
on 25 March 2009 when it was replaced by what was a sports-only High
Definition channel, One HD.[12]
On 24 September 2009,
CanwestCanwest announced that it was selling its 50.1%
stake in
Ten Network HoldingsTen Network Holdings for A$680 million,[13] to pay down its
significant debt. In late 2009,
CanwestCanwest filed for creditor bankruptcy
protection, due to C$4 billion mounting debt across radio, television
broadcasting and publishing assets in several countries.[14]
On 20 October 2010, four years after he sold shares in PBL Media to
private equity firm CVC Asia Pacific,
James Packer purchased 16 per
cent of Ten.
Network TenNetwork Ten launched a new digital channel, Eleven, on 11 January
2011.[15] The channel is aimed at a "distinctly youthful" audience
between the ages of 13 and 29.
NeighboursNeighbours and
The SimpsonsThe Simpsons were
high-profile programs migrating from Ten to the new channel.[16] The
channel was a joint venture with
CBSCBS Studios International, which
owned a 33% stake.[17]
On 8 May 2011, Ten relaunched its sports based channel One, with
general entertainment programming aimed at males taking over the
schedule. It is aimed at a similar audience to 7mate.[18]
In 2012, Ten unsuccessfully launched many new programs. This led to
Ten's ratings dropping to fourth place behind ABC for over thirty
straight nights.[19] The poor performance resulted in Chief
Programming Officer David Mott's resignation.[20]
In late 2012, Ten reported a loss of $12.9m as it battled poor
advertising markets and failed to hold larger audience numbers. They
made positions at the station redundant and said that production may
become centralised.
Analog broadcasts ceased on 10 December 2013.
On 15 June 2015,
FoxtelFoxtel (co-owned by News Corp) bought 15% shares in
Ten Network Holdings, pending the approval from the ACCC. Prior to the
acquisition, Discovery backed out from bidding partnership with
Foxtel. In July 2015, Paul Anderson was announced as the new Chief
Executive Officer.[21]
2016–2017: New affiliation and financial troubles[edit]
A high definition simulcast of Ten was revived on 2 March 2016. As a
result, One began broadcasting in standard definition only.[22][23]
Following the announcement of a new affiliation agreement between the
Nine NetworkNine Network and Southern Cross Austereo, Ten's then-primary regional
affiliate, on 29 April 2016, Ten entered into affiliation talks with
Nine's then-primary regional affiliate WIN Television.[24][25] Ten's
new five-year affiliation deal with WIN commenced on 1 July 2016. WIN
carries Ten programming into regional Queensland, Northern NSW,
Southern NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia,
the Australian Capital Territory and the Gold Coast.[26][27] WIN owner
and Ten's largest shareholder Bruce Gordon positioned himself to
increase his ownership stake in Ten, subject to changes to media
ownership laws being passed.[28]
Following
Ten Network HoldingsTen Network Holdings reporting a $232 million half year
loss, billionaire shareholders Lachlan Murdoch, Bruce Gordon and James
Packer withdrew support for $250 million guaranteed loan that would
help keep Ten out of receivership.[29][30][31] This loan was intended
to replace an existing guaranteed $200 million loan that expires in
December.[32] On 13 June, Ten asked the Australian Securities Exchange
that their stock be placed in a 48-hour trading halt while it assessed
its options concerning receivership.[33][34] It went into voluntary
administration the following day.[35][36]
On 28 August 2017, Ten's administrators announced that US media
company
CBS CorporationCBS Corporation (which had a 33% share in channel Eleven and
was Ten's largest creditor) had entered into a binding agreement to
purchase the company for $123 million.
CBSCBS refinanced Ten's existing
debt including guarantor fees to billionaire shareholders James
Packer, Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon, and existing loans from the
Commonwealth Bank. Shareholders in
Ten Network HoldingsTen Network Holdings lost their
investment.[37][38]
Gordon and Murdoch, whose joint bid for the company has not been
accepted, challenged the administrators' decision in the Supreme Court
of New South Wales.[39] At a meeting on 12 September, Ten's creditors
overwhelmingly voted in support of CBS' bid, citing concerns over
Murdoch's previous management of Ten and talk of mass job cuts in the
news department under Murdoch ownership.[40][41]
The
CBSCBS acquisition was completed on 16 November 2017, when the shares
of
Ten Network HoldingsTen Network Holdings were transferred to
CBSCBSNetwork TenNetwork Ten BV, a
company registered in the Netherlands.[42] [43][44]
2017–present:
CBSCBS ownership[edit]
Following the
CBSCBS acquisition, Ten moved to commission more Australian
content. The additional programs were financed by the savings from the
dissolution of Ten's output agreement with 21st Century Fox.[45]
Programming[edit]
Further information: List of programs broadcast by Network Ten
Local programs[edit]
Ten's current Australian program line-up consists of series such as:
Neighbours, Australian Survivor, I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of
Here!, Shark Tank Australia, Gogglebox Australia, MasterChef
Australia, Have You Been Paying Attention?, Hughesy, We Have a
Problem, Family Feud Australia, The Project, Bondi Rescue, Bondi Vet,
The Living Room, The Bachelor
AustraliaAustralia franchise (which consists of
The Bachelor Australia, The Bachelorette
AustraliaAustralia and Bachelor in
Paradise Australia) and morning chat show Studio 10.
Overseas programs[edit]
Current US programming is sourced from Ten's deals with
CBSCBS Television
Studios (Paramount TV) /
Paramount Home Media DistributionParamount Home Media Distribution (Paramount
films; long running),
20th Television20th Television (Regency Enterprises films
only), Transmission Films.
When it was independent, Ten had a long-standing relationship with CBS
Studios International for Australian rights to its content. Ten also
held over-the-air rights to selected
20th Century Fox20th Century Fox programming such
as The Simpsons, although in October 2017, Fox ceased its output deal
as a side effect of the network's bankruptcy and CBS
acquisition.[46][47]
News and current affairs[edit]

Further information: Ten Eyewitness News
Network Ten's news service is called
Ten Eyewitness NewsTen Eyewitness News (previously
Ten Evening News,
Ten NewsTen News and
Ten NewsTen News at Five). It produces local
bulletins each weeknight and national bulletins on weekends.
The news service also produces nightly panel show The Project. During
weekday overnights, Ten rebroadcasts CBS's news and current affairs
program
CBSCBS This Morning.
Ten has access to
CBSCBS News stories for international news coverage.
Sport[edit]
Further information: Ten Sport
Ten is a major player in Australian sports broadcasting. All sports
broadcasts on Ten and its multichannels are labelled under the Ten
Sport brand.
Ten's most popular recurring sporting events include the A-League
(since 2017),
SocceroosSocceroos (since 2018),
Big Bash LeagueBig Bash League (since 2013),
Women's
Big Bash LeagueBig Bash League (since 2015), Wallabies (since 2013),
Supercars ChampionshipSupercars Championship (since 2015),
Formula OneFormula One (since 2003) and
MotoGPMotoGP (since 1997).
In 2002, Ten combined with the
Nine NetworkNine Network to acquire free-to-air
broadcast rights for the Australian Football League, the elite
Australian rules footballAustralian rules football competition, displacing the Seven Network
which had held the rights for more than 40 years. Ten broadcast
Saturday afternoon and Saturday night games and had exclusive rights
for all finals games. Along with the Seven Network, Ten placed a
successful $780 million bid to jointly broadcast the game from 2007 to
2011.[48] Under this deal, Ten continued to broadcast the Saturday
component of the competition. However, unlike the previous deal, Ten
did not hold the exclusive rights to the finals series. Instead, the
networks shared the broadcasting of the finals series and alternated
the broadcast of the grand final. In the years when Ten did not
televise the Grand Final (2008 and 2010), it telecast the Brownlow
Medal presentation. Ten ended AFL broadcasting at the conclusion of
the 2011 season.
Network TenNetwork Ten broadcast the 2007 Rugby World Cup.[49]
In 2003, Ten started broadcasting the
Formula OneFormula One World Championship
after the
Nine NetworkNine Network dropped the rights in 2002 after more than
twenty years of coverage.
Big Bash LeagueBig Bash League games are currently broadcast in
AustraliaAustralia by Ten. In
2013, Ten paid $100 million for BBL rights over five years, marking
the channel's first foray in elite domestic cricket coverage.[50] Ten
previously held the broadcast rights to the Indian Premier League.
Network Ten, in joint partnership with subscription television
provider Foxtel, had broadcast rights for the 2010 Commonwealth
Games.[51]
Network TenNetwork Ten acquired broadcast rights to the
2014 Winter Olympics2014 Winter Olympics in
Sochi, Russia for AUD$20 million after all three major commercial
networks pulled out of bidding on rights to both the 2014 and 2016
Olympic GamesOlympic Games due to cost concerns. The
Nine NetworkNine Network had lost AUD$22
million on its joint coverage of the 2012 Games with Foxtel, and the
Seven Network's bid was rejected for being lower than what Nine/Foxtel
had previously paid.[52][53][54]
Availability[edit]
Network TenNetwork Ten is available in standard definition and in
1080i1080i high
definition. Ten's core programming is fibre fed out of ATV Melbourne
to its sister stations and regional affiliates with TEN Sydney
providing national news programming. The receiving stations and
affiliates then insert their own localised news and advertising which
is then broadcast in metropolitan areas via Network Ten
owned-and-operated stations, these include TEN Sydney, ATV Melbourne,
TVQ Brisbane, ADS Adelaide, and NEW Perth. Ten programming is also
carried into regional
AustraliaAustralia by various affiliate networks and
stations including WIN Television, Southern Cross Ten, and Darwin
Digital Television.
Ten HD[edit]
Main article: Ten HD

TEN HD logo

The
Ten HDTen HD multichannel was launched on 16 December 2007 until 25
March 2009 and later revived on 2 March 2016. It broadcasts identical
programming to Ten, but in
1080i1080i HD.
Tenplay[edit]

TENplay logo

TenplayTenplay is a free video on demand and catch up TV service run by
Network Ten. The service became available on 30 September 2013,
replacing Ten's old website that offered limited catch-up TV
services.[55][56]
TenplayTenplay is available on the web and via apps for
mobile devices, smart TVs, set-top boxes and video game consoles.
On 21 January 2016,
TenplayTenplay started live streaming beginning with
Studio 10Studio 10 every morning at 8.30am until 11.00am and Highlight show
every Weekends at 9.30am to noon, Every afternoon block between 3.30pm
until 7.30pm originally between 4.30pm to 7.30 before adding cooking
shows, after 7.30pm it starts broadcasting the major reality shows
(e.g. I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, MasterChef Australia,
Shark Tank, Australian Survivor) and later in January 2018, it become
24 hour live streaming on the main channel while One remains part-time
shows. It also broadcasts live streams of Sport (e.g. Formula 1, Moto
GP and Rugby union).
Ten Eyewitness NewsTen Eyewitness News during Olympics, Supercar Championship, Big Bash
League and Women's
Big Bash LeagueBig Bash League matches are not accessible through
TenplayTenplay live streaming service due to the digital broadcast rights
being owned by IOC rights, Telstra for Supercars and Optus for
cricket.
Controversy[edit]
For the 2006 series of Big Brother, Ten appointed two censors to
review the show instead of one.[citation needed] The Federal Minister
for Communications, Senator Helen Coonan, was reported to have said
that she would be keeping a "close watch on the show's 2006
series".[citation needed] This controversy resulted in Big Brother
Uncut being renamed Big Brother: Adults Only for the 2006 season of
Big Brother. In two separate findings, the Australian Communications
and Media Authority determined
Network TenNetwork Ten breached clause 2.4 of the
Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice. These two breaches
were in relation to the broadcast of Big Brother Uncut on 30 May, 13
June and 4 July 2005. The broadcast material was not classified
according to the Television Classification Guidelines.
Despite toning down Big Brother: Adults Only significantly in
comparison to 2005, the series continued to attract controversy. After
Big Brother: Adults Only was abruptly cancelled several weeks early, a
subsequent incident of alleged sexual assault in the house saw the
removal of two housemates and a huge public outcry calling for the
series to be cancelled entirely.[57] This incident generated
significant publicity for the show, even prompting the Prime Minister
of
AustraliaAustralia to call on
Network TenNetwork Ten to "do a bit of self-regulation
and get this stupid program off the air."[58]
Just prior to the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Network Ten
broadcast 911: In Plane Site, a documentary that examined conspiracy
theories about the terrorist attacks. Federal Labor politician Michael
Danby demanded that the programming director of the station be
sacked.[59]
On 8 October 2008, the Australian Communications and Media Authority
(ACMA) found
Network TenNetwork Ten guilty of breaching the Commercial Television
Industry Code of Practice by using subliminal advertising during the
broadcast of the 2007
ARIA Music AwardsARIA Music Awards on 28 October 2007.[60]
Network TenNetwork Ten had inserted single frames (lasting 1/25th of a second)
into the program broadcast. This was exposed on ABC's Media Watch
program.[61][62]
Logo and identity history[edit]
From 1964 to 1984 Network Ten's four stations – ATV-0/ATV-10
Melbourne, TEN-10 Sydney, TVQ-0
BrisbaneBrisbane and SAS-10
AdelaideAdelaide – used
different logos to identify themselves. There had also been a number
of network-wide logos used from the mid-1960s through to the early
1980s.
By late-1984 ATV-10, SAS-10 and TEN-10 were all using the same logo
– a circle with "TEN" in the centre, somewhat in the style of a neon
sign. This logo had been introduced by TEN-10 in January 1983, was
adopted by ATV-10 in June 1984 and by SAS-10 in November 1985. The
logo was also similar to the new logo adopted by Brisbane's TVQ-0 in
April 1983, when that station became branded as TV0 – a neon
sign-style circle with "TV" in the centre.
Kicking off three years of some upheaval for Network Ten, On 24
January 1988 ATV-10, ADS-10 and TEN-10 all adopted the "X TEN" logo,
followed by Perth's NEW-10 when it launched in May 1988, then TVQ-0
which adopted the logo on 10 September 1988 when it changed frequency
and became TVQ-10. On 23 July 1989, the network rebranded again to "10
TV Australia".
On 13 January 1991, in conjunction with their "The Entertainment
Network" promo, all Ten stations were rebranded to the first version
of the current Ten logo, which consisted of a blue circle enclosed in
a grey ring, with "ten" written in the centre of the circle in lower
case, yellow text. When Ten relaunched its graphics to the "Electric"
ident on 1 October 1999 the ring changed to yellow. The current
variation of the logo was introduced on 22 June 2013, removing the
yellow accent from the ring and lettering, replacing it with light
blue and white.